Genesis 4:7

“If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”

      Today’s world is full of depressed people. In our country in particular, this seems surprising. Despite the state of the economy right now, we are an affluent nation. We take convenience and luxury for granted, even treating them as necessities. We have instant communication with people all over the world. We have freedom not afforded to people throughout time. Yet people are still constantly depressed. The amount of self-help and self-esteem books are staggering. Television shows air daily showing all these different people who are depressed loathe themselves. Considering all the blessings we have, should we not be a much happier people?

     What many people are learning today is the same lesson that Cain learned centuries ago: sin affects us. Especially when we know better. Many times the problem with our lives is not that we do not know what to do, but that we lack sufficient committment to do it. When we sin and we fall short, we are upset and disappointed with ourselves. This is a heavy burden for us to carry around. Even worse is the fact that our sin separates us from God. We are no longer have communion with Him. Considered we were created for such a communion, that takes a toll on us.

     The problem of discontent in our lives, then, has an easy solution. Thousands and thousands of pages have been written trying to help people to be happy. And yet God summed it up for Cain in one easy question. There are no special techniques and  there is no need to spend time in a dream world. We do not need money, people, or things in order to have joy in our lives. If we would only obey the commands of God and practice righteousness, conetentment is within our grasp.

 “If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”